When that I was and a little tiny boy,
with hey, ho, the winde and the raine:
A foolish thing was but a toy,
for the raine it raineth every day.

But when I came to mans estate,
with hey ho, the winde and the raine:
Gainst Knaves and Theeves men shut their gate,
for the raine it raineth every day.

But when I came alas to wive,
with hey ho, the winde and the raine:
By swaggering could I never thrive,
for the raine it raineth every day.

But when I came unto my beds,
with hey ho, the winde and the raine:
With tosspottes still had drunken heades,
for the raine it raineth every day.

A great while ago the world begon,
with hey ho, the winde and the raine:
But that’s all one, our play is done,
and wee’l strive to please you every day.

—

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

The Riverside Shakespeare; Houghton Mifflin College, Boston; ISBN 0395754909
David Bevington (ed.), The Complete Works of Shakespeare; Addison-Wesley, Boston; ISBN 0321012542
David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Stanley Wells, Shakespeare’s Words; Penguin Books, Harmondsworth; ISBN 0141007370
Sandra Clark, The Penguin Shakespeare Dictionary; Penguin Books, Harmondsworth; ISBN 014051421X